Record fine for waste operator following major environmental
crime
13 December 2012
A waste operator has been given a record fine today after being
found guilty of carrying out one of Scotland's most significant
environmental crimes.
Doonin Plant Limited was fined £200,000, which is the largest
cumulative financial penalty ever handed out for an environmental
offence reported to the Procurator Fiscal by SEPA. Sentencing of
director Gary Doonin was deferred for one year with the Sheriff
warning that any further offences, during that time, could lead to
a custodial sentence.
On 12 September, Doonin Plant Limited, along with director Gary
Doonin, was found guilty of keeping hundreds of tonnes of
controlled waste, at a site within the former Woodend Colliery,
Armadale, in a manner likely to cause pollution of the environment.
Mr Doonin and his company were also found guilty of keeping
controlled waste without the authority of a Waste Management
Licence.
The conviction and sentencing follow a number of previous
convictions of Doonin Plant Limited, in respect of environmental
offences, which also resulted in penalties including a £90,000 fine
in 2010 for waste offences.
Commenting on the sentencing, Ian Buchanan, Area Manager of the
Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA), said:
"Today, justice has been done for Scotland's environment. The
sentence delivered is a positive result for the public, who care
about the environment, and legitimate waste operators who have been
undermined by the actions of Mr Doonin and Doonin Plant Limited. By
carrying out such activities, the company and its director
demonstrated a complete lack of consideration for the environment
and we hope the sentence acts as a deterrent to any operators
considering breaking the law.
"SEPA has worked closely with our colleagues at the Crown Office
and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) to see this complex case
reach a positive conclusion and will continue to do so to bring
those who commit environmental crimes to justice.
"The conviction of Mr Doonin himself should also act as a
warning to company directors that SEPA will consider offences
committed by individuals when investigating environmental
crimes."
Craig Harris, Head of the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal
Service (COPFS) Wildlife and Environmental Crime Unit said:
"Doonin Plant Ltd and Gary Doonin carried out activities with a
total disregard for the environment - and not for the first
time.
"The conviction was the result of a lengthy investigation by the
Scottish Environment Protection Agency and prosecution by the Crown
Office and Procurator Fiscal Service. The severity of the
crimes against the environment was marked by this case being
prosecuted before a jury and today's outcome.
"Today's judgment will send out a strong warning to any other
unscrupulous businesses who conduct themselves in this illegal
manner".
Ends
Notes to editors
The exact charges Gary Doonin was found guilty of were:
(006) On various occasions between 17 January 2010 and 11
February 2010, both dates inclusive, at the former Woodend
Colliery, Mill Road, Armadale, West Lothian, you GARY DOONIN did
keep controlled waste, namely a car tyre, cardboard, carpet, carpet
underlay, chipboard, clothing, electrical wiring, electrical
components, electrical circuit breakers, food packaging (plastic),
insulation material, laminated paperwork, metal mechanism, metal
wire, newspaper, plasterboard, plastic bottles, plastic buckets,
plastic ducting, plastic hosing, plastic sheeting, plastic bags,
plastic telephone handset, plastic video tape, postal mail,
paperwork, scissors, sofa cushions and wooden planks with hinges in
a manner likely to cause pollution of the environment or harm to
human health, namely that you did dispose of said wastes on land
that was not lined with an impermeable liner or supplied with an
appropriate leachate collection system or landfill gas extraction
system, resulting in the likelihood of leachate high in levels of
Biochemical Oxygen Demand and dissolved metals making its way to
groundwater and/or to local watercourses, and to the likelihood of
landfill gas being produced and venting freely to air, causing
offensive odour and resulting in the release to atmosphere of
methane and carbon dioxide, thereby impacting on local and global
air quality;
CONTRARY to the Environmental Protection Act 1990, Section
33(1c)(c);
(008) On various occasions between 17 January 2010 and 11
February 2010, both dates inclusive, at the former Woodend
Colliery, Mill Road, Armadale, West Lothian, you GARY DOONIN did
keep controlled waste, namely a car tyre, cardboard, carpet, carpet
underlay, chipboard, clothing, electrical wiring, electrical
components, electrical circuit breakers, food packaging (plastic),
insulation material, laminated paperwork, metal mechanism, metal
wire, newspaper, plasterboard, plastic bottles, plastic buckets,
plastic ducting, plastic hosing, plastic sheeting, plastic bags,
plastic telephone handset, plastic video tape, postal mail,
paperwork, scissors, sofa cushions and wooden planks with hinges on
or in said land otherwise than in accordance with a waste
management licence in that you did keep the aforesaid controlled
waste on or in said land;
CONTRARY to Environmental Protection Act 1990, Section
33(1i);
The exact charges Doonin Plant Limited was found guilty of
were:
(002) On various occasions between 17 January 2010 and 11
February 2010, both dates inclusive, at the former Woodend
Colliery, Mill Road, Armadale, West Lothian, you DOONIN PLANT
LIMITED did keep controlled waste, namely a car tyre, cardboard,
carpet, carpet underlay, chipboard, clothing, electrical wiring,
electrical components, electrical circuit breakers, food packaging
(plastic), insulation material, laminated paperwork, metal
mechanism, metal wire, newspaper, plasterboard, plastic bottles,
plastic buckets, plastic ducting, plastic hosing, plastic sheeting,
plastic bags, plastic telephone handset, plastic video tape, postal
mail, paperwork, scissors, sofa cushions and wooden planks with
hinges in a manner likely to cause pollution of the environment or
harm to human health, namely that you did dispose of said wastes on
land that was not lined with an impermeable liner or supplied with
an appropriate leachate collection system or landfill gas
extraction system, resulting in the likelihood of leachate high in
levels of Biochemical Oxygen Demand and dissolved metals making its
way to groundwater and/or to local watercourses, and to the
likelihood of landfill gas being produced and venting freely to
air, causing offensive odour and resulting in the release to
atmosphere of methane and carbon dioxide, thereby impacting on
local and global air quality;
CONTRARY to the Environmental Protection Act 1990, Section
33(1c)(c);
(004) On various occasions between 17 January 2010 and 11
February 2010, both dates inclusive, at the former Woodend
Colliery, Mill Road, Armadale, West Lothian, you DOONIN PLANT
LIMITED did keep controlled waste, namely a car tyre, cardboard,
carpet, carpet underlay, chipboard, clothing, electrical wiring,
electrical components, electrical circuit breakers, food packaging
(plastic), insulation material, laminated paperwork, metal
mechanism, metal wire, newspaper, plasterboard, plastic bottles,
plastic buckets, plastic ducting, plastic hosing, plastic sheeting,
plastic bags, plastic telephone handset, plastic video tape, postal
mail, paperwork, scissors, sofa cushions and wooden planks with
hinges on or in said land otherwise than in accordance with a waste
management licence in that you did keep the aforesaid controlled
waste on or in said land;
CONTRARY to Environmental Protection Act 1990, Section
33(1i);